The Wayne Public Library of Wayne, NJ is the owner of the Wayne Discussion Blog. The purpose of this blog is to facilitate discussion of selected book titles and other library materials, for entertainment, enlightenment and educational purposes.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Adults Rock!: The Summer Reading Program 2009

The Adult Summer Reading Program begins June 19, 2009 and runs through August 22, 2009. Open to Wayne Residents age 18 and up. The more you enter, the more chances you have to win the Grand Prize of a $50 Borders gift card (courtesy of the Friends of the Wayne Public Library). Here's what you need to do to blog...

1) Find a great book to read!

2) Read it!

3) Write a review or summary and tell us if you thought it was a GEM or a LUMP of COAL!

4) Click on the month June

5) Look for Adults Rock!: The Summer Reading Program -- Click on it!

6) Scroll down just a bit.

7) Click on Post a Comment

8) Type in your Name, Library Card # and Phone number, book information and book summary.

9) Type in the Word Verification

10) Select Anonymous

11) Then Publish

12) Your review will not actually get published until it is reviewed/approved by our librarian. She will then print out your entry and place it in the Adults Rock Entry Box, and then remove your name, card number and phone number and publish it on our Book Discussion Blog. The more books you read and review or blog about, the closer you are to winning! The contestant who has the most entries will win!

26 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell.I have to admit, I was not sure about this one. Her earlier works were fantastic but the latest stuff has been off. The beginning of this one was tough to get into but once you get a little further, it's vintage Cornwell. I would give it a mixed review just based on her prior works.

Heartsick by Chelsea CainAWESOME READ! I actually bought this one after I saw the sequel on the reduced price shelf at Borders. It looked so good that I went and found the paperback edition of the first one. It's a classic murder mystery with a lot of twists and one serious psychopath. I've already started the sequel and it promises to be just as good!

The Hotel Dick by Axel Brand (pseud.)is a detective story about a hotel detective who is murdered and how a police detective solves the crime. Much name dropping of movie stars from the 40s on makes for an amusing sideshow. Different but amusing as well.

Sometimes "coming of age" books can be tedious but Fortunate Age by Rakoff eventually gets you involved in the lives of Oberlin college graduates living in NYC and the boroughs. Very contemporary, it traces their lives as young adults, their choices in life and the eventual paths they choose.At first, seems juvenile, but book and plot grows with the characters.

Although this book opens with the assurance that “no dogs die in this book” (and this is true) that is not to say that it will not bring tears to ones eyes. Katz rescues a border collie (Izzy) who has been fed but otherwise on his own and trains him to be a hospice dog. As it turns out, he is a huge success at this as the reader discovers in accounts of his visits with dying people from a little boy with a brain tumor to those in the last stage of Alzheimer’s disease. Along the way, Katz adds to his menagerie a lovable young lab named Lenore who he first thinks would not be appropriate to the work. A significant subplot is that during all of this Katz increasingly suffers from depression. With help from his sister, a therapist, and his dogs, he comes to improve significantly.

When my father died after 58 years of a happy marriage, I asked my mother how they knew they were a good match because they were so different. She agreed they were different, but did not answer to my satisfaction. So when I saw this book, I thought I might find an answer. Well, that did not happen, but I did find she had some interesting research although she sometimes seems to intersperse these with opinions. She analyzes four types defined partially by hormones and how they relate to each other and adds advice on how best to match or make a match work.

Traditionally Walter O’Malley is condemned for removing the Dodgers from Brooklyn. This book hypothesizes that the real villain is Robert Moses who worked behind the scenes to stifle plans to build a new stadium in Brooklyn. In the process of telling the story, the author, using access to O’Malley’s archives, relates a captivating tale of the history of the team and memories of a Brooklyn that will be familiar to readers of a certain age.

Forgotten Legion by Kane...historical fiction lovers will enjoy this tale of the late Roman republic. Adventures of the Roman army are interspersed with a family story. I find reading historical fiction an easy way to learn/review the period.

Beginning of a triology set deep in Louisiana, this books tells the story of one-time teenage lovers who are reunited 13 years later as adults. Their lives have taken different paths to this point and they are not sure what will transpire when they see one another again. Many old feelings are still present, long kept secrets are revealed and family dynamics play a central role. This very quick read is full of twists and turns making this a moving, if light read, great for the beach or a plane ride.

I almost didn't read Columbine, even tho I had ordered it after its considerable promotion. However, it proved a fascinating read. Dave Cullen has done an amazing job combining the terror of that day with analysis of the boys who killed and/or wounded so many of their classmates and a history of that time and subsequent reactions of the families affected.

I have to admit that I was driven to read this one after I read a synopsis of the movie and wanted to learn more. Great book with a twist at the end. It gets a little confusing as the characters go backward and forward in time. Essentially, one sister was diagnosed with leukemia at 18 months old. The parents conceived another child to be a good genetic match to provide stem cells but over the years, the younger daughter was also called upon to provide white cells, bone marrow etc. At 12 years old, the parents are asking her to give up a kidney for her sister and she seeks out a lawyer to have the procedures stop. Thought provoking and well written.

Nightworld 3 - by LJ SmithI got hooked with the first one and had to continue the series. I'm looking forward to the next as this one delves into the "end of the world" with the Nightworld inhabitants trying to figure out old prophecies so that they can get rid of the vermin humans and take over the world. There are good NightPeople as can be expected and the stories move right along. Another good read

NightWorld 1 by LJ Smith.I started reading this one when my daughter checked it out from the library and I got hooked. It's a big thick book, which I like and it's got three stories inside. The themes run similar to the Twilight series with vampires, shapeshiftersm, werewholves etc. Enjoyable and fun although after the third story, kind of predictable

Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain.This is part two of a series that started with Heartsick. It's the continuing story of the twisted relationship between a serial killer and the detective who tracked her down. Has some interesting twists and turns.

This was a good book. A gem. The story is set in Australia and is about an 18 year old girl who had moved from the country to the city. This girl had an affair with her boss and on a whim decided to leave town with him just prior to her parents arriving for a visit. At first I felt this book was going to be a mystery/mystery-like read, however it was anything but a mystery. The story was built around this girl, her parents, and brother. The author spent a good deal of time developing the girl's parents, their own upbringing and lives, and their decision making along the way. I was a tad disappointed at the end but I think it is because there were no big surprises.

This is a good book. It was the second book that I had read on children with sensory processing disorder, sensory intergration disorder, or whatever term is used to define children who have sensory related issues. This book reviews the disorder and gives examples of 4 different major subcategories of the disorder and if you have a child with sensory issues, you will likely be pulled towards one of these subcategories. The appendices are fantastic and they include a glossary, additional book and web resources, and even a letter that one could use to help family members understand a child's complex needs.

I loved this book. It was one of a few that I couldn't put down. It was a very easy read about the life of a woman who made some poor choices at sixteen when she became involved with a kidnapping of a pregnant woman. Those choices caused her to change her identity and start a new life. As the book progresses, the woman finds it more difficult to keep her secret. At the end of the book she makes choices which challenge the love and support of her family. No real surprises along the way. Plenty of times where I reflected on my own life as a teenager and then as a woman and parent.

I loved this book. It was one of a few that I couldn't put down. It was a very easy read about the life of a woman who made some poor choices at sixteen when she became involved with a kidnapping of a pregnant woman. Those choices caused her to change her identity and start a new life. As the book progresses, the woman finds it more difficult to keep her secret. At the end of the book she makes choices which challenge the love and support of her family. No real surprises along the way. Plenty of times where I reflected on my own life as a teenager and then as a woman and parent.

I loved this book. It was one of a few that I couldn't put down. It was a very easy read about the life of a woman who made some poor choices at sixteen when she became involved with a kidnapping of a pregnant woman. Those choices caused her to change her identity and start a new life. As the book progresses, the woman finds it more difficult to keep her secret. At the end of the book she makes choices which challenge the love and support of her family. No real surprises along the way. Plenty of times where I reflected on my own life as a teenager and then as a woman and parent.

I loved this book. It was one of a few that I couldn't put down. It was a very easy read about the life of a woman who made some poor choices at sixteen when she became involved with a kidnapping of a pregnant woman. Those choices caused her to change her identity and start a new life. As the book progresses, the woman finds it more difficult to keep her secret. At the end of the book she makes choices which challenge the love and support of her family. No real surprises along the way. Plenty of times where I reflected on my own life as a teenager and then as a woman and parent.

I finished The Courts of Love and moved on to the next one. It, too was well researched and entertaining to read. The corruption in politics today is nothing like that in England during the time of the kings. The schemes that these people came up with and some of them pulled off to be in a position of power are truly amazing. As with the first one, I found some parts dragging but you couldn't help but feel for Katherine with her unfeeling mother and insane father.

I got hooked on historical fiction during the time of the kings by reading everything that Phillipa Gregory wrote. When I went searching for more like it, I came across this author. She has written TONS from various time periods and has a reputation for being a good researcher. This book was about Eleanor of Aquitaine and was well written and entertaining although not as easy to read as the Gregory stories. I really enjoyed the characters but found it slow at some points.

Great read! I think I have read most of these by now. The main character is a detective in Seattle in the homicide department. As with most detectives, he is underappreciated by the police department but always manages to solve the crime. Fun and entertaining!

Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet EvanvoichIn this latest quick read, Stephanie Plum is back and up to her usual hi-jinks in laugh out loud style while trying to help everyone. This time the story revolves around solving a mystery for sexy security expert Ranger, helping Lula and Grandama Mazur with a BBQ ocntest and trying to aviod the bad guys who decapitated a famous chef set to make an appearace at the contest. Cars are sacrificed, crazy appreshsions are attempted and the heat is turned up on the tension in the Stephanie-Ranger-Morelli trangle.

Interesting from an historical viewpoint. The relationship between Clara and Robert Schumann and Johanes Brahams is closely examined. Definitely a woman's book. Good Things I wish You presents Clara Schumann as a fascinating woman, both professionally and personally. Many photos and personal letters included.